Curvature of a diagonal plane wave in Rosen coordinates

ID: curvature-of-a-diagonal-plane-wave-in-rosen-coordinates

For , , with nowhere-zero smooth , take , , , , . In signature , Cartan's first structure equation and metric compatibility give the lower-index connection 1-forms and . Cartan's second structure equation gives and . All other independent curvature 2-forms vanish: in particular the component cancels between the time and longitudinal terms. Contracting yields . Thus the Vacuum Einstein equations are , while nonzero gives opposite transverse tidal curvatures and plus polarization relative to these axes.

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